The chainmail armor on the soldier's body swayed and made a "thumping" sound as he walked. Only then did Krieg notice that almost every soldier stationed in the village was wearing expensive chainmail armor, although some of them had such Or scars and blemishes like that.
"What kind of nobleman is this Baron Simon? His soldiers are so well-equipped!" Krieger thought.
The gate of the originally spacious and empty wooden fort had already begun to be guarded by soldiers. After a brief negotiation with the leading soldier, the soldiers on guard looked at Krieger from head to toe, then nodded and moved out of the way, but their eyes With surprise and curiosity.
"Krieg has arrived."
The soldier standing guard at the door opened the door with a loud shout. Krieger, who was used to the strong sunlight outside, subconsciously squinted his eyes and walked into the cool tower hall.
He looked up at the armchair at the front of the lobby. He had met Baron Kunir before, and the chair that originally belonged to him was now occupied by a young man in rich clothes, but Krieger was very sure that he was not the heir of Baron Kunir.
Behind the young man stood a naive fat man, but Krieger had a feeling that this guy who looked kind-hearted was a ruthless and cruel person when he killed people.
Sheriff Kevin stands by the pillar to the right of the Lord. Except for his hair and beard being a little whiter and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes being a little more wrinkled, he hasn't changed much from before.
When his eyes made contact with Krieger, Krieger saw anger, frustration, and humiliation.
"Lord Baron, this is the fugitive, the outlaw Krieger." Sheriff Kevin seized the opportunity and said excitedly to Simon as if the villain was the first to complain.
"Shut up, Kevin, I'm not letting you talk now." Simon was a little disgusted with this good-for-nothing old man.
He is a police officer, but he is a well-oiled guy with a rich face. He wore a blue woolen tunic, and fastened his fine woolen cloak with a shining gold brooch. He didn't dress as if he was leading a team to capture important criminals at any time, but rather as if he was showing off his noble status all the time.
"Of course, sir, I'm just too excited...please forgive me for being rude." Sheriff Kevin lowered his head knowingly and said to Simon flatteringly.
"So, you are Krieger." Simon stopped paying attention to the flattering old man and looked at the burly Celtic man in front of him. "I heard that the bandits and robbers running around Esbai Village are all you. Cleaned up?”
"That's right." Krieger nodded and replied briefly.
"No, dear Lord Baron, I led the soldiers to clean up, but this outlaw, together with the villagers who have good relations with him, despicably took all the credit on himself!" At this time, Sheriff Kevin looked like a He raised his head like a rooster in a cockfight and said proudly.
"Shut up Kevin, I don't want to say it a second time," Simon said a little impatiently, "If there is a third time, the guards know what to do."
"Sorry, Lord Baron, I didn't mean to offend." Kevin lowered his head deeply and took a step back.
"Krige, since you said you were responsible for cleaning up those bandits, do you have any proof?" Simon glared at Kevin and then returned his gaze.
"Of course." Krieger said, taking out a few things from the big patched cloth bag on his waist and handing them to the fat man, "These are Bloody Jesse's silver spurs. It is said that this is his despicable He got it after he killed a roadside knight and wore it on his boots to show off, everyone knows."
Simon nodded, and then looked at Sheriff Kevin with questioning eyes. The latter was stunned for a moment, and said with a blush: "This is indeed Bloody Jesse's silver spur."
"Very good." Simon handed the silver spur back to the fat man's hand and took another gold ring with a pattern on it. "What about this one?"
"That's the golden ring of Calvin the Skullbreaker. He once led bandits into an undefended manor, and he stole it from the mistress of the manor," Krieger said.
() () Simon looked at Kevin, who had beads of sweat on his forehead: "He is right, sir, this is Calvin's gold ring."
"So, Sheriff, where's your loot?"
"I, I," Sheriff Kevin's words became unscrupulous, "I gave all the loot I captured to Baron Quinnier. God knows what he did with it."
"But my people have asked the villagers in the village. It seems that you have not wiped out any decent bandit groups in the past two years." Simon sneered. "They said that the head you used to claim credit from the Baron looked more like It’s homeless refugees and poor tramps.”
"No, those damn villagers were jealous of my achievements and everything I had, so they framed me!" Kevin was anxious, his voice trembling.
"So, Kevin, you are an incompetent guy, and you are also hated by the villagers. Maybe you shouldn't be in this position." Simon shook his head at Kevin, and Kevin's face turned gray.
"Lord Baron, please, I promise that I will prove myself to you, I just lack an opportunity," Kevin said with a gloomy face, and suddenly pointed at Krieger, "And now, this opportunity is standing here In front of me, I hope you can approve my arrest of Krieger, a notorious fugitive!"
"Why?" Simon crossed his legs with interest, "I heard that he is an excellent carpenter and a respected mediator."
"He committed suicide privately without being tried by the lord. According to customary law, his head should be chopped off and inserted on a sharp stake in the center of the village. If you respect the law, you should inherit the order of the previous lord and arrest this man who ignored the law. Barbarian!" Kevin looked at Krieger fiercely, but Krieger looked fearless.
"The person he killed deserves to be killed. What would you do if someone raped your wife and then killed her?" Simon saw that Kevin's confidence suddenly lost a bit. It seemed that he still cared about his wife, "But , it is true that he killed someone without going through the trial of the lord. Krieger, you have to pay a fine of one silver coin, otherwise you will be imprisoned in the dungeon until someone pays a ransom of one silver coin for you."
"Master, I will pay the fine now." After Krieger finished speaking, he took out a muddy silver coin from the bag and handed it to the fat man. Then he looked at Kevin meaningfully, his eyes full of ridicule.
"Very good, I hope you can remember this lesson. Now, you can go back to live in your original hut and cultivate the land that originally belonged to you. In addition, as an excellent carpenter, I hope you can pick up your job again .”
"Thank you, Lord Baron." Krieger bowed to Simon.
Sheriff Kevin next to him was extremely embarrassed. The new baron did not get rid of the thorn in his side as he had hoped. He felt that his authority had been challenged, and the people in the village were waiting for this opportunity to laugh at him.
"Can you make a longbow?" Simon noticed the longbow on Krieger's back, which looked similar to the Welsh longbow captured from the Norman pirates last time.
"Of course," Krieger took off the longbow from his back and stroked it gently, "in Britannia, making longbows is the specialty of every carpenter. The ash wood in your forest is very suitable. Makes good longbows.”
"Really?" Simon's lips curled up.
………………………………
Time soon came to Sunday, which is the day of the Lord. In addition to daily prayers and worship, the villagers of Esbai Village were also told by the armed soldiers that there was another major event to be announced today, and that a ceremony would be held next. A banquet.
Although the villagers already knew in advance that this was about the ownership of the territory and the declaration of sovereignty by the new lord.
For them, this "special" Sunday means that they can eat the Eucharist bread, which symbolizes the body of Jesus, and drink the red wine, which symbolizes the blood of Jesus, as usual, and enjoy a feast that is rarely available in ordinary times.
However, the happiest person should be Cliff, the miller of Esbai Village. He has a small boat used for fishing. Usually, few people take the boat from him to the village of Verde on the other side of the river, but today his business is extremely good.
() () "One copper coin per person for crossing the river. Two copper coins for a donkey or a horse." Cliff held the oar and came to the shore of Verde Village, looking at the people waiting to cross. The man in the river seems to be looking at the copper coins that are about to be put into his pocket.
"Perhaps we can suggest that Master Simon build a bridge here in the future." Although the stonemason Ryan was very excited about Simon becoming a baron today, he was still unhappy with Cliff, a guy with greed in his bones.
"Maybe," Cliff was a little unhappy, "but you have to admit, at least if you want to cross the river now, you have to take my boat!"
"I will pay. Just shut up and ferry over quickly!" Ryan, the stonemason, waved two copper coins in front of Cliff, and then put the money back into his purse.
In this way, Ryan, the old village chief, hunter Bill, Gabriel, Matilda and his wife, doctor Arthur and wine girl Alice and their daughters crossed the Rhine River in sequence and reached the mill on the other side of the river.
"Is that your dog?" Cliff looked at the young man with a childish face in front of him. A dark-furred dog was wagging its tail next to his legs. "If you want to go there, you have to pay one for your dog." copper."
"Are you crazy?" Little Klein looked angry, "I won't pay the toll for a dog to cross the river!"
"Then there's nothing I can do to help. Maybe you can let it swim over. It's hard to say whether it will drown or not, hahaha!" Colliff's smile was a little ugly, even harsh.
"Go back, Dismas," Little Klein knelt down and patted the black dog on the head, "We won't be gone for long."
Dismas was very smart and immediately understood what little Klein meant. He hummed obediently and ran back towards the village with his tail between his legs.
"Good dog." Father James said with emotion.
Speaking of which, this dog was adopted by little Klein last week. At that time, a caravan from East Frisia passed by. When the caravan left, the dog, abandoned by its owner, was left in the village.
The dog likes to steal the bones that the militia soldiers left on the ground after lunch, which were meant to be buried in the fields as fertilizer. If the cook hadn't paid attention, who knows, would it have eaten the meat rations given to the militia soldiers?
This incident made Father James very funny, so he named the greedy dog - Dismas.
Dismas was the thief who was crucified with Jesus. Ironically, the thief was eventually canonized as a saint. According to Father James, this dog has a different sensitivity than other dogs, but currently it seems that it is all used for stealing food.
"Very good, it seems that I have lost one customer," Cliff said with false regret, "Maybe I shouldn't have driven him away, but," Cliff's eyes moved to Father James, "Are you ready? Is there enough money to cross the river, dear monk?"
"What," said Father James angrily, pointing to Cliff's nose, "are you so possessed by the devil that you dare to charge a toll to cross the river from a clergyman, a servant of God?"
"I'm sorry, Father, I'm joking with you," Colliff's displeasure was written directly on his face, "Of course you can cross the river for free, I just pray for your prayers."
Although the process was somewhat bumpy, everyone who had received invitations to attend Simon's coronation banquet had successfully crossed the wide Rhine River and reached the other side safely.
Along the way, everyone chatted happily and looked forward to the future.
Now, Simon has obtained the territory of the original Baron Quinnier, which means that he has a few more fiefs that can be used to divide it-maybe a manor, maybe a large piece of land or assets in the village.
Bill and Gabriel, who were officers of the archery team and cavalry team in Simon's army, even couldn't wait to raise their hands at this time.
